1980 F150 4x4 Flareside Project

Det cord will remove any and all frame members cleanly in a microsecond.

I don't know how the salvage yard might feel about that, but most of the yards I've been to probably wouldn't mind, given the way they XXXX around with airbag initiators.

salans7 wrote

I hate doing rivets on my nice flat concrete pad, you'll hate them even more in the gravel at the junkyard. I've seen plenty of junkyards with the trucks that are missing the back half of the frame. Maybe ask them for a price and whether they will cut or allow you to cut and take a back half home.

Shaun, as we say around here..."Don't even talk!"...lol. I drilled out 23 frame rivets in my '84 Flareside, and that was indoors on a concrete floor with a stool to sit on, and even that was UNfun. On top of that is the heat...while probably cool by your standards, it's 85 during the day here now, and 100 with the humidex. I really don't want to do that laying on my back in the gravel with the hot metal filings/shavings falling on me...lol.

Gary Lewis wrote

You are spoilt for choice, as they say in the UK.  Lots of options, we'd say.  But, is it worth it to resurrect the 1980 frame?  How is the '86 frame?

I ask because drilling all of those rivets is NOT easy.  My approach finally came to an air chisel to take the head off and then drilling what was left to take the pressure off.  Then you can drive them out.  But it is SLOW.

Gary and Shaun...thank you for making me see something that I was overlooking...

I had disregarded the frame in that 1986 Bullnose at the junkyard as it is one of those uncommon Bullnoses that one never sees around here...it's a Supercab with the short 6 1/2 ft bed. My thoughts on shortening a frame were always regarding the standard 133" regular cab frame which would have to be cut aft of the rear cab mount. That's easy. But a Supercab with a short box?...I guess it would have to be shortened forward of the rear cab mounts crossmember? I never really thought about that one. Are the frame rails even parallel under the cab? They DO start to narrow further forward don't they?...

Hmmm....

But...even the rear section of that frame might be a good candidate, thanks for mentioning that Shaun. I too have seen them chopped off behind the cab like you mention.

There is the 1996 F150 there with what looks to me to clearly have a southern frame under it, but it has already been shortened...and they did a very nice job of it, but I don't want to shorten a frame that's already been shortened...lol, and of course it also has the front crumple zones, so while it's basically very solid, it's not a good candidate for me. The crossmembers however are very nice, if I can get them out of it...

Jim,

On the Det Cord...
I'm not familiar with using it...but agree it would make quick work of it...lol.

I'm basically limited to hand tools and a cordless drill, a cordless recip saw, and a cordless 1/2" impact gun. They will lift the body off a truck for me, but I have to cut it loose. I may have another look at the '86 and the '96. The bed bolts and cab bolts can easily be deal breakers. There is a relatively good chance that the cab bolts would spin out...but if they don't...they're miserable to try and cut with a recip saw...BTDT. Bed bolts almost have to be drilled out...

Anyway, you guys have given me lots to think about....thanks for that...

Do you have a cordless angle grinder?

It's really amazing how good that thing is for cutting bolts. (If you can get at them, and have enough battery)
.045 discs, you can never have too many...

Bring gloves and a face shield.
Cheap Princess Auto or Canoodian Tyre stuff is fine.

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Do you have a cordless angle grinder?

They are not allowed. No grinders, no torches, and no jacks.

So you can use a sawzall but not a grinder????

Carbide sawzall blades are $13 here, but probably worth their weight in gold for your purposes

ArdWrknTrk wrote

So you can use a sawzall but not a grinder????

Carbide sawzall blades are $13 here, but probably worth their weight in gold for your purposes

Correct. I guess the rationale is that while they both create sparks, a recip is minimal by comparison.

I've used a recip at the junkyard before, but only on easy stuff like sheet metal or to chop off a bent driveshaft...that's easy peasy...but the blades dull quickly and bend even quicker, so they're not my favorite thing to use,.

Which is why I say get a quality carbide tooth blade from someone like Lenox.

How bad are the front rails bent and where?
If you have a good front bumper so you can get the spread and get them up & down straight also, its not that hard to get them right.
Big trees or telephone poles make good pulling points with a come along and a sledge hammer will bring them back into place.

I had to straighten mine and I took the best bumper I had to work with.
Then again maybe that is the body / frame guy talking
Oh and I did not have any heat wrench (torch) to work with.
Dave ----

FuzzFace2 wrote

How bad are the front rails bent and where?
If you have a good front bumper so you can get the spread and get them up & down straight also, its not that hard to get them right.

Ya know, now that I think of it, I probably can straighten the horns. Hmmm. It looks like the front right corner hit something at some time. There was a vertical crack just forward of the steering box that was welded...not sure if that was there before or as a result of a bump to the front end. The easiest way to explain it is that both horns are bent towards the driver's side. I'll have a look at it tomorrow again it is currently sitting outside the shop at my work. The driver's side horn is actually tweaked downwards a little bit as well.



I have a good straight bumper and I actually have a nice spare front crossmember...this truck did not have one installed when I got it.

FuzzFace2 wrote

How bad are the front rails bent and where?

If I can get my hands on a couple crossmembers, I'll figure out a way to fix those horns...lol.

The engine crossmember is quite solid, so you can use it to pull from.  You could pull the driver's side horn back that way.  But that won't align it vertically.

However, it'll require pushing the passenger's side if you use the engine crossmember, so that would take a hydraulic ram or a high-lift jack.

I cant remember if the frame is straight on the sides from the cross member forward or not?
I think it was so a straight edge will help to get it straight front to back.

Work 1 side at a time. Use the fork lift and say a 4x4 between the lift & frame. Lift would be off to the side where the front axle is. Then a come-a-long on the front of the horn to the side of the lift.

Pull a little and then check the top & bottom of rail to see if they are bent up or down.
In the picture it looks like the right top of the rail is bent down. If so as you pull hammer it back up along with the bottom part of the rail. Pull a little more and hammer and using the straight edge on the outside of rail see if it is straight. You will need to pull it a little farther than flat as it will spring back.

Do the same on the left side rail till it is straight.
The only thing like you pointed out is that crack / weld, was it done before or as part of the bending as that could make it harder to pull back into place.

You can also use that front bolt in cross member to make sure both rails are parallel to each other same with the bumper.
As for up & down it depends on just how much if it off? I would say anything 1/2" or less I would not worry as the radiator support can be shimmed and I think there is enough adjustment in the bumper to take that up.
With out seeing it in person and what tools you have on hand like the fork lift, some wood and maybe a ratchet straps might work to get it back in place?

The big thing is as long as the frame is bent out front you can fix it with tools on hand but back farther can be a bear.
If you can get frame dimensions for measuring would also help to make sure the frame is true all the way back.
Dave ----

OK gentlemen,

Change of course here. The 1980 frame is toast. The more I worked on it and took things apart, it just kept getting worse and worse...and I actually have a high tolerance for running rusty junk...lol. Anyway, I found a couple more bad spots...they weren't all visible until more cleaning. (By the way, I NEED to buy a needle scaler...). The front left corner wasn't just cracked...it was basically broken, and had been patched under the steering box previously. Anyway, no big deal...I bought the truck mainly for the Flareside parts anyway, and the body parts are worth saving/re-using.

So, plan B...stay tuned...I have something in the works as a donor frame/chassis for this '80 Flareside.

I love it when a plan comes together, even when it is Plan B.  (Or, in my case, Plan Z.)  So, I'll await the coming announcement.......

Gary Lewis wrote

So, I'll await the coming announcement.......

So the announcement is that I made a deal on a 1995 F150 swb 4x4 that will be 'blended' together with the 1980 Flareside project..

This thing is a bit rough on it's own, and it's been sitting for a while, but it has good bones which is what I needed...and it's running/driving...so that's a big advantage. A couple key things made me jump on this truck. It is a factory swb 4x4 with 5.0L / 5spd and 3.55 geared diffs. Has quad shock front end and both front and rear factory swaybars and a trailer hitch. I spent 20 minutes crawling under the thing checking out the frame and all crossmembers, and while it is rusty (as they all are around here) it appears to be solid. The cab is not bad, but the front fenders and quarter panels are trash. I should have it by Friday, if not early next week. I didn't look all that close under the hood...but the good news about the 5.0L in 1995 is that is definitely a roller engine, and I believe came with the HO/351 firing order? That bad is that I believe the 5.0L was still speed density EFI in 1995 when it was mated to a 5spd (And MAF/Sefi when mated to the auto?, and they were all MAF in 1996?).

So my tentative plan is to Bullnose swap the front clip since I now have everything to do it, and swap the 1995 Styleside bed for the 1980 Flareside bed. This won't be happening overnight of course...this might take me 2 years...lol, but this is the plan as of today (ask me again tomorrow). Later on, I would swap the Bullnose cab on there and the 300/6 DSII, etc. I know the front end of the frame on the '95 is different, but it's very easy to deal with.

But back to the 1980 Bullnose...

I finished stripping all of the good stuff off the old frame this morning, including the SBF engine perches (people do seem to look for those from time to time) and the TTB beams, rear leaf springs, etc. I cut the frame in two and hauled it down the hill for scrap and made a whopping $26 bucks! That 40 year old steel will be repurposed as something useful I'm sure.

I already started cleaning up what good parts I do have, and scrubbed 40 years of grime and overspray off both chrome bumpers (SOS pads). After the dry out again I'll treat the backside with Ospho and I'll power ball some polish on them and see if they shine up a little better.

Anyway, that's where I am as of today (We are on vacation/"staycation" this week).

Staycation?

I thought you bought the RV for this?

You're going to need to do something about a speedo drive, unless you swap the transfer case.
Maybe you know someone who has too many Ford's?   

Put a cam and a carb on that engine and beat it like a redheaded stepchild.

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Staycation?

I thought you bought the RV for this?

You're going to need to do something about a speedo drive, unless you swap the transfer case.
Maybe you know someone who has too many Ford's?  

LOL...ya...
So we did go away in the RV this past weekend and Mrs. Rembrant ended up getting ill, so we cancelled a trip to Cape Breton (Supposed to be there right now, actually). She blamed it on heat stroke, but I blame it on having too many beer (and then eating things that are usually off limits under normal judgement...lol).

Roger on the speedo drive. Understood. luckily, the guy I'm buying the truck from also has a couple others there that he is parting out...and 89 and a 90 I believe, both 4x4, so they should have the t-cases I need.

Cool!  But why wait to swap the cab?  And, why the 300 six if you have a roller 5.0?  I'm guessing the 300 is because you already have a 5.0.  And I'm going to also guess that the reason for the delay for the cab is that while you have the EFI on the 5.0 you need the wiring in the cab.  Right?

Anyway, congrat's!  Great project.  That's going to keep you busy.

I hope Mrs Rembrandt recovers from her indiscretion soon!  

I'd be a huge seafood whore if I were in the Maritimes in summer.
PEI mussels and catch off the dock would be my everyday.